Exploring the Attitudes, Beliefs and Perceptions of Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Bangladesh towards Precision Medicine and Pharmacogenomics Practice: A Qualitative Study

The aim of this study is to investigate the attitude, beliefs, and perceptions among undergraduate and graduate students toward precession medicine (PM) and pharmacogenomics (PGx) practice. A cross-sectional survey is conducted amongst students from different universities in Bangladesh.The results of the survey showed that the majority of students had a positive attitude towards precision medicine and pharmacogenomics, perceiving it as a means to improve diagnosis and treatment accuracy. Furthermore, many students also expressed a willingness to learn more about precision medicine and pharmacogenomics, suggesting that there is potential for these practices to be utilized in Bangladesh. Particularly in this study, 337 students from life science and relevant programs participated. From this study, it is shown that 84% of graduate students and 74% of undergraduate students thought PM is a promising healthcare model. In addition, 39% of students are highly encouraged to pursue their post-graduation in the subject areas of PGx and PM to support patients. The majority (62%) thought that patient privacy was the ethical concern most closely related to pharmacogenomic testing, while 19% of respondents thought that data confidentiality was the key issue. The results provide insight into the potential of precision medicine and pharmacogenomics in Bangladesh and suggest that further research into the attitudes of healthcare professionals should be conducted in order to take full advantage of the potential of these practices.